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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22601533">leather bound wrists.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekrest/pseuds/seekrest'>seekrest</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>febuwhump 2020. [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(sort of), Angst with a Happy Ending, Delirium, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, May Parker (Spider-Man) &amp; Tony Stark Coparenting Peter Parker, Peter Parker Whump, Protective Michelle Jones, Unreliable Narrator</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 15:14:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,718</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22601533</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekrest/pseuds/seekrest</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Distantly, Peter can hear the sound of something almost like scratching. </p><p>It’s annoying - faded in the background, something that just itches at the back of his mind. </p><p>It’s not enough to bring him out of the depths of whatever is currently flooding through his system - feeling trapped inside and outside of his body at the same time.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Peter Parker &amp; Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>febuwhump 2020. [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619581</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>237</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>leather bound wrists.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/forensicleaf/gifts">forensicleaf</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>HAPPY BIRTHDAY FLEAF!!!!!!! Hope you enjoy this dose of angst and hurt/comfort of our favorite boi!!! </p><p>Special thanks for blondsak for helping make this 1000x times better - you’re a legend.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Distantly, Peter can hear the sound of something almost like scratching. </p><p>It’s annoying - faded in the background, something that <em> just </em> itches at the back of his mind.</p><p>It’s not enough to bring him out of the depths of whatever is currently flooding through his system, but it <em> is </em>enough for him to be aware that there is something keeping him immobile - feeling trapped inside and outside of his body at the same time. </p><p>
  <em> “Hello! Hello! Please. Hey, hey, please. I’m down here. I’m down here. I’m stuck. I’m stuck. I can’t move. I can’t…” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The weight of the concrete above him is blinding, crushing him - he can’t move, he can’t breathe, he can’t even think - his chest rising and falling as much as he can as he starts to panic.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. Peter’s mind runs on a loop, hands shaking as he extends it out towards the air - knowing no help was coming but hoping beyond all reason that it would show up all the same.  </em>
</p><p>His head lolls, a low moan coming from somewhere - the sound of it making the scratching stop just for a second. </p><p>“Peter?” He hears a voice he vaguely recognizes whisper, wincing slightly - the whispered voice feeling like someone is shouting at him as he hears someone moan again. </p><p>
  <em> “Ben? No, no, no, you’re okay. Come on, you’re okay. You’re okay, please.” Peter’s hands shook, pressing down on the wound on Ben’s chest, the dark-red staining his light blue shirt as Peter begins to panic - the horrifying realization settling over him at what happened.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> At what he’d done.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Ben?” </em>
</p><p>It occurs to him that the moaning is him when the other voice asks, “Pete, you with me? It’s not Ben, it’s me.”</p><p>He tries to open his eyes but immediately regrets it, pushing his head back against something cool - registering that his hands were above his head, almost hanging from… something</p><p>It’s not an unfamiliar sensation, one that reminds him of holding on to a web as he swings through the city. But then he hears the voice speak out again, the echo of it telling him that he’s not in the city.</p><p>“Peter, can you look at me?”</p><p>He tries, the act of opening his eyes taking all of his energy - his vision slightly blurry until he blinks a few times, eyes landing immediately on a face that he recognizes.</p><p>“MJ?” Peter’s voice cracks, wincing again as he moves his hands - his whole body aching from the strain of being held up, forcing himself to look upwards to see that he’s bound together by something metallic.</p><p>“Peter, look at me. Look at me okay?” </p><p>
  <em> May is leaning down, Peter shivering less from the cold but from the deep ache in his chest - the swooping feeling in his gut at what had happened tonight, what he’d done.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> His clothes are still stained with Ben’s blood, Peter convinced that no amount of cleaning will ever rid himself of the shame and the guilt creeping all over him - the shock blanket wrapped around him feeling paper-thin.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Peter doesn’t even want to look up and see her, doesn’t want to see the grief that he’s caused but finds he can’t help himself - feeling so much younger than fourteen when he meets her eyes.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> May’s features soften, seeing the way her eyes start to fill with tears as she brings a hand to his face.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “You’re okay, Pete. I got you.”  </em>
</p><p>Peter blinks, bringing his head back down - his mind feeling like he’s crawling through mud as he tries to make sense of where they are.</p><p>It’s dark, the only light being that of a fluorescent light bulb - the kind of cliche hiding spot of a standard criminal on those crime shows that Michelle loves to watch.</p><p>The air feels stale, the room small and cramped enough that Peter can see the metal door not even six feet across from him.</p><p>
  <em> “Does she know?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Know what?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Peter can feel the tension in the air, the spacious car suddenly feeling claustrophobic - his attention on Toomes even though the gun resting not even inches away from his face reflects against the school’s parking lot lights.  </em>
</p><p>Peter blinks again, trying hard to focus on what’s in front of him and not what he gathers are memories - seeing Michelle firmly planted in the middle of the room, Peter finally recognizing that she’s seated on some kind of chair.</p><p>“MJ.” He says more definitively, hoping that she’s able to answer the question that he can’t bring himself to ask.</p><p>She seems to understand, nodding towards the door. “Jackass one and two haven’t shown up again. They come around every thirty minutes, if I got it right. But they missed it last time so now I’m not--”</p><p>
  <em> “Thought you could run from us huh, Spider-Man?”  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Peter is seconds away from throwing his arm back, clenching his fists about to disarm the man behind him only to stop - one of the other guy’s hands firmly around Michelle’s throat, seeing the simultaneous fury and panic in her eyes as he presses a gun towards her head.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The sharp rush of fear is dizzying, Peter freezing in place.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Don’t touch her.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Come quietly and we’ll let your little girlfriend live.” The one behind him says, Peter loosening his fists as they cuffs his hands, the metal feeling heavy in a way that’s familiar to him as they open the van door - Michelle trying to kick the man behind her only for him to hit her - hard - Peter watching in horror as she slumps over. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “MJ-- </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “You on the other hand,” the man behind him continues - the panic and immediate regret stirring in Peter’s gut at how still Michelle was, regretting how easily he’d submitted to their demands.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He can still hear her heartbeat, allowing himself to be shoved in the van after her when the man continues, “You might not be so lucky.”  </em>
</p><p>He can hear Michelle’s voice in the background but Peter starts to drift off, feeling his head start to droop - only for her voice to cut through the haze once more. </p><p>“-te? Pete, stay with me, hey. Hey, come on.”</p><p>“Wha--”</p><p>“You keep passing out on me and I’m trying not to freak out,” Michelle says, Peter barely registering the panic in her voice, “But that’s really hard to do when you keep doing that.” </p><p>“Doing what?” Peter croaks out, feeling dizzy from the exertion of speaking, of holding his head up, of even breathing at this point - feeling a sharp pain in his left side as more and more time goes on. </p><p>
  <em> “Shit.” Peter winces, leaning his head back as he watches the cars drive up towards the wreckage - his hand gently grazing against his ribs, wondering to himself how badly he’d broken them or if they were bruised.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Peter watches the smoke rise, wondering what he ever did to deserve the homecoming date from hell - and how he was going to conceivably come up with a good lie for May when he stumbles home.  </em>
</p><p>“That.” Michelle says, Peter blinking back to look at her - seeing the worry in her face as she says, “Stay with me okay? We’re gonna get out of here.”</p><p>
  <em> “We’re gonna get out here, Peter.”  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “We’re lost.” He sighs, putting his hand on his shoulder as he tries to bring Ned’s attention back to him and away from the exhibit - a roll of panic in his gut at being left behind on the field trip, of May and Ben never finding him or worse - being taken away from them because he got himself lost.  </em>
</p><p>“Course we are.” Peter says, struggling to bring himself back to the present, making a half-hearted effort to jiggle his arms. </p><p>He regrets it the moment he does since the pain in his side sharpens at the movement, his head pounding even harder. </p><p>“I’m Spider-Man.” </p><p>Michelle’s face transforms into something like a grimace. “I know but you’re-- you need to focus less on the heroics and more on just staying awake for me alright? I think I’ve got this strap almost loose.” </p><p>
  <em> “Kid? Kid, you with me?” Peter groans, seeing the concern written all over Tony’s face as he pushes some hair back, the relief in his eyes that Peter’s looking back at him tinged with some kind of resignation. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I know the hero thing is your gig, Pete but we’ve got to work on your sense of self-preservation alright?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I had it, Mr. Stark.” Peter tries to say but it ends up sounding more like a cough, Tony’s face fading out of his vision as he says, “Sure you did, kid.”  </em>
</p><p>She grunts at that last statement, Peter blinking a few times - aware now that there are some kind of drugs in his system that are messing with his memories, or at the very least his sense of reality - finally taking notice of the fact that her hands are bound together by leather straps, the scratching sound returning from her movements. </p><p>
  <em> “Can I see?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Hmm?” Richard looks down to Peter, seeing his eye line drift down to the watch that he’s adjusting.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Richard smiles, kneeling down so that he’s at Peter’s level before slipping the watch off and handing it to Peter - his little hands running over the smooth leather that has R.P. embossed on the edge.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “You like it?” He asks, Peter nodding as he examines the watch - this thumb running over the clock face before looking up to his father’s face, seeing his smile. </em>
</p><p><em> “Your mom and I are gonna get you one just like it for your tenth birthday. Parker tradition.” He says, eyes twinkling before blurring out of sight. </em> </p><p>“Heroics?” Peter asks, his head throbbing more and more the longer he’s awake - the pain in his side sharpening as he gasps, swallowing down the memories or the visions - whatever they are, forcing his mind to try and stay in the present. </p><p>“That,” Michelle says, nodding towards where he could feel the pain in his side as he winces. “You wouldn’t have gotten that if you would’ve just--” She sighs, cutting herself off. “I’m not going to even bother to try and argue with you.”</p><p>She waits for a beat, Peter blinking at her as she squints. “Unless that’ll keep you awake?”</p><p>Peter says nothing, moving his arms even more so - ignoring the throbbing pain coming from his side and his head as he jostles the cuffs around his arms, glancing up again. </p><p>His mind feels clearer now than it had even a minute go, finally connecting the dots that he’d obviously been drugged with something and - from the looks of the cuffs around his hands - was bound by vibranium.</p><p>“How the hell did they get,” he winces, Michelle’s frown deepening as he shifts his head to look back at her, “vibranium?”</p><p>Michelle shrugs as best as she could, Peter watching as she continues to try and work at the leather around her wrists. “Who the hell knows? Since when does anyone who seems to find you make any kind of sense?”</p><p>Peter laughs at that only to instantly regret it, the pain in his side starting to make his focus wane - glancing down and seeing that he’s been cut across his midsection, not deep enough to have hit anything vital but just wide enough that it hurts for him to move his body anymore than what he already has, a pool of blood already forming underneath him. </p><p>It’s stained enough of the floor to know that it happened a while back though how long, Peter’s not sure - his sense of time blurring together as he wills himself to focus, seeing Michelle’s mouth start to move again. </p><p>“Come on, Peter. Stay awake okay? Please, I don’t-- I don’t think it’s good that you keep drifting out. They hit you pretty hard.” </p><p>He’s coherent enough now to hear the fear in her voice, blinking a few times as he valiantly tries to listen before he asks, “Are you okay?”</p><p>Michelle lets out what sounds like a mixture between a laugh and something almost like a cry before saying, “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”</p><p>“What?” Peter’s eyes widen a little, a sense of panic in the back of his mind that she <em> wasn’t </em>okay, that something was wrong - that the idiots who’d taken them had--</p><p>“<em> You </em> are the one chained up, bleeding out on the floor and you’re worried about me right now? Are you kidding me?” Her words are sharp, her tone almost delirious with fear and worry when she shakes her head - locking eyes with him before saying, “Peter, we have <em> got </em> to work on your priorities. Stark’s right, you have terrible instincts.”</p><p>“No,” Peter replies, tasting something metallic in his mouth - a warning sign that even his drug-addled mind can recognize is bad as he continues, “I’m fine--I heal, you don’t--”</p><p>“You can’t heal if you keep throwing yourself in front of them.” Michelle hisses, Peter seeing a flash of terror in her eyes as she jostles the straps around her wrists even more so. “You weren’t-- they wouldn’t have messed with you so much, if you would’ve just--”</p><p>Michelle stops herself, closing her eyes as she sighs - seemingly resigning herself to something as Peter just stares. </p><p>“Whatever, it’s fine. We can argue about it when we get out of here.” She opens her eyes, staring him down with the kind of intensity he hasn’t seen before when she says, “And we <em> are </em> going to get out of here.”</p><p>Peter gives an imperceptible nod, going to say something more only for the blood that he’d tried to hold back to come rushing forward as he coughs - grimacing as it splatters across the floor and dribbles down his chin, hating that he’d allowed themselves to get in this position and that Michelle was seeing him like this.</p><p>She didn’t seem to care at all, her eyes widening with worry as she says, “Peter, look at me. Look at me okay?”</p><p>Peter’s trying but he hears something like a whir in the background, suddenly feeling tired in a way that has less to do with the drugs and everything to do with the pain emanating from his side. </p><p>“No, no, come on, Pete. Come on, you gotta stay awake for me okay? <em> Stay. Awake. </em>” Michelle’s voice starts to go distant, no other memories clouding his senses - just the cool release of darkness dancing around the edges of his vision - a part of him recognizing that he should listen to her voice but finding that he’s unable to. </p><p>“Peter!”</p><p>He hears Michelle’s voice still but there’s something else in the background - something more familiar but a sound that his dazed mind can’t quite place. </p><p>Darkness floods his vision, right when there’s a sharp crackling sound, fizzing and then a whine from machinery that he <em> knows </em> but can’t put together, hearing another voice cut through the black.</p><p>“Kid? Pete, MJ are you--”</p><p>“Don’t worry about me,” he hears someone that sounds like Michelle yell, Peter’s small grasp on reality starting to fade as his head droops, the other voice getting louder and louder as it draws closer. </p><p>“Pete? Pete, stay with me, kid.” The voice sounds pained, something like cool metal on his face - bringing his head forward, hearing other voices in the background that all start to fade in and out of focus. </p><p>
  <em> “Peter? Peter, come on. Stay with me. Stay with me.”  </em>
</p><p>Peter hasn’t gone anywhere - or maybe he has, feeling weightless before falling - flying? - forward, feeling himself be gently laid down to a flat, cold surface. </p><p>
  <em> “What happened?”  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “He’s an idiot is what fucking happened. He-- they were trying to come for me and he--” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Tony, this is bad, man.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I know, I know. Shit, come on Pete, look at me. Open your eyes, kid come on.”  </em>
</p><p>Peter can’t bring himself to do it, can’t bring himself to do anything - any sense of reality he had fading fast as the darkness encloses all around him, letting himself fade into it and slip back into unconsciousness. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>He hears the beeping in the background, smells the antiseptic and feels the IV in his arms - the tape surrounding his wrists scratching slightly as he shifts. </p><p>“Hey whoa, kid don’t move.”</p><p>The voice is barely above a whisper but it feels like a shout, Peter wincing and keeping his eyes closed - a cool hand on his forehead as he hears a soft laugh. </p><p>“You’re alright baby, you’re okay.</p><p>Peter’s eyes flutter, his head still throbbing slightly as light immediately floods his vision - a sharp contrast to the darkness that had surrounded it before. </p><p>It’s intense, enough that Peter has to close his eyes - pushing his head back further into what he can recognize is a pillow, the beeping from the heart monitor and the rapid heartbeats of two people in front of him helping him make sense of where he is. </p><p>“Medbay?” He croaks out, May’s fingers rifling through his hair as she laughs. </p><p>“Yeah kiddo, you’re in the medbay.”</p><p>Peter’s mind blanks for a second before his eyes blink open - his heart rate starting to increase, seeing the concern on May’s face as she glances to it - Tony immediately jumping in.</p><p>“Before you ask,” he says, Peter gently turning to his head towards his voice - seeing the tired kind of expression that Tony seems to reserves just for him as he continues, “MJ is fine.”</p><p>“Is she--”</p><p>“<em> Fine </em> .” Tony affirms, shaking his head. “Her dad on the other hand was pissed, considering he had no idea she was <em> out, </em> much less out with her superhero boyfriend.”</p><p>Peter blinks, eyes dancing towards to May - finally recognizing the slight shade of disappointment and exasperation in her eyes before turning back to Tony and saying, “Um--”</p><p>Tony puts a hand up. “Your aunt and I managed to work it out, though it remains to be seen if you’ll ever <em> willingly </em> share your identity with anyone, kid.” </p><p>He sighs, sitting on the edge of the bed as May’s hand moves from his hair to his chin - bringing his attention back to her. </p><p>“Don’t ever do that to me again.” </p><p>Peter nods, understanding her meaning is double-fold - sneaking out, getting hurt, other things that are both inside and outside of his control as she nods - loosening her grip on his chin when she says, “Good. Dr. Cho said they want to observe you for the next few days, make sure your side doesn’t become infected. Gives you good preparation for the next three weeks you’ll have to think about what happened.”</p><p>“Three <em> weeks </em>?” Peter exclaims, wincing again from the movement - both May and Tony trying to settle him as Tony says, “I tried to argue for three years but your aunt has a good guess that you’ll spontaneously combust if you’re inside for too long.”</p><p>“She’s not wrong.” Peter mutters, becoming more and more aware of the pain in his side as he leans his head back. </p><p>“You’ll be fine.” May says not unkindly, squeezing his arm gently before saying, “You up to having visitors?”</p><p>Peter perks up at that, ignoring the pain in his side as he raises an eyebrow. “MJ?”</p><p>May nods, Tony lifting himself off the bed and heading towards the door - motioning for someone to come in when May whispers to him, “Her dad wanted to talk to you.”</p><p>Peter blanches at that - realizing again that he’d not only snuck Michelle out for what ended up being a late night ice cream date that had gotten her kidnapped but that he’d inadvertently made it so that he found out Peter’s alter ego, wincing when he remembered that she hadn’t ever wanted to tell him that she was dating Spider-Man. </p><p>He never did quite catch who had kidnapped the two of them or why, saving that for a later conversation when Michelle walks into the room - Mr. Jones right behind her. </p><p>Michelle looks fine relatively speaking, a stitched up cut and a nasty bruise from where they’d hit her making his stomach roll. He glances down and can see more bruising from where the straps had been on her wrists, feeling even more guilty that he’d taken her out in the first place. </p><p>Peter’s unsure of what to say as Tony closes the door behind him, feeling the awkward silence as May clears her throat. </p><p>“Arthur, it’s good to--”</p><p>“So you’re Spider-Man.” He interjects, an unreadable expression on his face. </p><p>No one in the room moves, Peter almost holding his breath - feeling a little more terrified at being alone with Michelle’s father than he thinks he did during however long they’d been kidnapped, seeing the wide-eyed expression on Tony’s face and Michelle’s slight annoyance. </p><p>“Dad--”</p><p>“I’m not gonna do anything to him, Meesh. Iron Man’s right there,” he gestures towards Tony, before nodding towards May, “And I’m sure his aunt could take me if she wanted to.”</p><p>“You’re not wrong.” May says, her tone joking and light as the tension in the air lifts slightly - Arthur nodding once before looking to Peter. </p><p>“I just want to be clear of the facts here. You’re Spider-Man, you snuck my daughter out in the middle of the night--”</p><p>“Dad--” Michele says again almost warningly, Arthur putting a hand as he takes a step forward - Peter seeing Tony instantly take a protective step forward - the action of it only causing Peter to further panic.</p><p>“I’m sorry.” Peter immediately says, feeling the guilt weigh on him now just as the pain in his side starts to throb - Arthur taking another few steps towards him as the words rush out, “I’m so sorry, Mr. Jones. I didn’t-- I didn’t mean to--”</p><p>He’s immediately at his side, Peter surprised that May has moved out of the way - seeing something in Arthur’s expression that she must trust only to be immediately enveloped in his arms - freezing in shock as the man embraces him in a tight hug. </p><p>“Thank you.” He whispers, Peter awkwardly bringing his hands up to him - ignoring the way his side is screaming at him as he does. </p><p>Arthur leans back, Peter watching him wipe a tear from his eye as he nods once towards May. “Your aunt told me what that you’ve been doing this awhile, the whole superhero thing?”</p><p>Peter grimaces, only for Arthur to continue. </p><p>“You know I never really cared about all that shit. Avengers and whatever,” he glances towards Tony. “No offense.”</p><p>“None taken.” Tony says, Peter sneaking a quick look towards him before Arthur’s steady gaze returns to him. </p><p>“But they told me what you did, how you saved my little girl.”</p><p>“I’m the one who got her--”</p><p>Arthur shakes his head. “I don’t know what those assholes were planning,” he nods towards Tony once more before saying, “From what he saw from the footage and what Meesh said, you put yourself in danger, made sure they wouldn’t touch her.”</p><p>Peter bit his lip, faint and vague memories coming back - the pain in his side throbbing even more as he says nothing.</p><p>“Thank you.” Arthur says more definitively, taking a step back. “For protecting her.”</p><p>Peter’s eyes shift away from Arthur towards Michelle - seeing the same mixture of fear, concern and worry all over face that he saw back when they were behind held captive. </p><p>Memories of Michelle’s voice coming back to him - trying to keep him awake and conscious. </p><p>It was the one real thing he could hold on to from the whole experience, the only thing Peter can truly grasp of what actually happened - the other visions and memories all swirling around in his head but Michelle’s voice being the one thing that stayed consistent. </p><p>He smiled back at her, seeing the way her expression changes and relaxes into something more like a smile. </p><p>Peter looks back towards her father, the tired smile on his face wide as he says, “We protected each other.” </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>A few hours later, once Michelle and her father had left - Peter was still awake, Tony walking back into the room quietly about to say something only to pause when Peter put a hand up to his lips, pointedly looking to where May was sleeping. </p><p>Tony closes the door quietly behind him before taking a few steps until he’s right by Peter’s beside, sitting back in the chair that he’d been in a few minutes before.</p><p>Peter can sense that Tony wants to say something, watching as his jaw tenses for a beat until he comes to some conclusion to himself - sighing as he leans forward so that he can whisper to Peter. </p><p>“You scared the hell out of us, kid.”</p><p>Peter messes with the blanket, twisting his hand around it as he tries to swallow the guilt he’d felt creeping along his spine since he’d woken up.</p><p>“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark.”</p><p>Tony says nothing, his mind still going back to the awful threats the men had given, the taunts that made his skin crawl before they’d settled for slicing his side open.</p><p>“What did they want?” Peter asks, Tony’s eyes looking hard as he presses his lips together.</p><p>“Ransom, from what it looked like. Just waiting for an opportunity to snatch you, had a whole set up that—“ </p><p>Tony cuts himself off, part of Peter wanting to know the details and yet another part being convinced it wouldn’t do him any good.</p><p>“Doesn’t matter,” Tony says, eyes back on Peter. “You’re safe now.” </p><p>“I could’ve gotten her killed.” Peter whispers, letting himself finally feel the reality of how badly this night could’ve gone - only for Tony’s voice to be sharp, an immediate rebuke.</p><p>“<em> You </em> could’ve died, kid. It’s not— this isn’t something you should have to think about, not at seventeen.”</p><p>Peter holds his gaze for a beat, seeing the way Tony’s expression changes - another wave of guilt at the kind of hell he’d put him and May through before he says, “I’m sorry, Mr. Stark. Really. It was stupid, we shouldn’t— I should’ve known better than to—“</p><p>Tony rubs a hand over his face before looking back to Peter, the shame churning his stomach as Tony says, “You should be allowed to make mistakes too.”</p><p>Tony shakes his head. “I know it’s not fair to you, May and I were talking back when we were teenagers. All the stupid shit we got into.” </p><p>“I don’t get to do that. I should know better.” Peter says, only for Tony to sigh.</p><p>“You could you know, hang up the mask. Take a gap year or something.”</p><p>Peter gives him a look, the shame he feels being almost insignificant compared to the knowledge between them that Peter would never give Spider-Man - Tony sighing once more.</p><p>“Worth a shot.”</p><p>Peter looks down at the bed before shooting a glance towards May, a smirk on his face before he asks, “You think May could really take Mr. Jones?”</p><p>Tony laughs at that, just loudly enough for May to stir in her sleep - Peter making a face as Tony smiles.</p><p>“Kid, with her on your side?” He leans forward to put a hand over his arm, patting it gently.</p><p>“You could take over the world if you wanted to.”</p><p>Peter smiles at that, Tony leaning back in his chair - Peter looking back at him curiously before he asks, “What are you doing?”</p><p>“What’s it look like, Pete?” Tony asks, putting his legs up on the bed and leaning his head back. “Taking a cue from your aunt and getting some shut eye. Something you should do too.”</p><p>Peter laughs, seeing right through Tony’s not so subtle encouragement to sleep but says nothing, rolling his eyes as he leans back in the bed - staring up at the ceiling.</p><p>It’s quiet in the room, save for the heart monitor - Peter’s mind going back to what it had felt like in the room where they’d been held, the terror on Michelle’s face and the panic he’d felt at her being hurt.</p><p>“She’s okay, Pete.” Tony whispers, Peter blinking back the tears he hadn’t realized had formed. “And <em> you </em> are gonna be okay.”</p><p>Peter just smiles, his eyes moving away from the ceiling and back towards Tony - the look in his eyes convincing him that maybe he was right.</p><p>Maybe everything was really okay.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Kudos and comments are always appreciated!</p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://seek-rest.tumblr.com">Come hang out with me on tumblr</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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